It was a Saturday that Eureka tuna anglers won’t soon forget. After several less-than-stellar days, the stars finally aligned for the small fleet that made the 30- to 35-mile run south. It wasn’t the number of fish that stood out — it was the size. The majority of the albacore caught were 25 pounds or better, with some fish pushing 40 pounds.

The fish were reportedly spread out along the 125-line, from the 46-line down to the 38-line, where a hard break pushed water temperatures up six degrees. The action ranged from boats reporting single hookups to others hooking eight at a time, and everything in between. A couple of common themes emerged from the fleet: when the fish are this big, you only have room for so many, and several anglers left fish biting at the end of the day.

Hearing the reports, a handful of boats, including a few charters, ventured back to the same area Sunday. Conditions weren’t quite as good as Saturday, but the fishing sure was. Big fish were again on the chew, and boats loaded their coolers with as many as they could hold. When a 20-pounder is the smallest tuna in the box, you know you’ve been blessed with a pretty special day.

Looking ahead, there appears to be a small weather window for Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, the forecast is starting to deteriorate, and the water appears to be breaking up. Whether the fish stick around will likely depend on how much the ocean conditions change over the next couple of days.

Weekend marine forecast
According to Eureka’s National Weather Service, “moderate to strong northerly winds will gradually return to the southern waters by Friday and gradually spread north through the weekend, though winds will most likely remain much calmer closer to shore. Short period wind waves will dominate the marine environment with only a very minor southwest mid period swell up to 2 feet.”

As of Thursday, out 10 nautical miles, the Friday forecast is calling for winds out of the north 5 to 10 knots with north waves 3 feet at nine seconds and southwest 1 foot at 15 seconds. Saturday is calling for winds from the north 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 2 feet at five seconds and south 1 foot at nine seconds. Sunday, the winds will be from the north 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 3 feet at six seconds and south 4 feet at eight seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Low flow river closures in effect since Sept. 1
As Sept. 1, All North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. The Department monitors low flow conditions on Mondays for decision days Tuesday and Wednesday, Wednesday for decision days Thursday and Friday, and Friday for decision days Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and will update this message as needed. Please note that the Department may open waters between regularly scheduled updates in response to changing flow conditions. The department will only close waters on decision days Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays for their respective decision windows.

Anglers are advised to check the Department’s Low Flow Fishing Regulations – North Coast website before deciding to fish in any of these low flow restricted waters, and to clean, drain, and dry all fishing gear to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species.

The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2027.

Trinidad launch closed for the season
The launch facility and water taxi service closed after Sunday, Sept. 13 for the season. The floating dock and moorings have been removed as well.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, boats did really well on Saturday on tuna. “We fished about 10 north of the fleet and went 7 for 11,” said Klassen. “All the fish were in the mid-20’s to 30 pounds. The better fishing was definitely south of us where they put up some pretty big scores. That water looks like it’s pushing out a little now. It looks like there may be a weather window for Friday/Saturday before the swells build back up. The rockfish bite at the Cape was fair on Sunday, definitely not as good as it has been. We were still able to get limits and over a one ling person, but it was tougher fishing. There hasn’t been much effort on Pacific halibut this week, especially with tuna being so close.”

Shelter Cove
Rock fishing continues to be pretty darn good, reports Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. He said, “We fished locally around the whistle for the most part. We made it offshore for albacore on Sunday and put 48 fish in the boat before the wind came up. We were fishing straight out 30 miles. Looks like there’s a short, one-day window on Thursday that we’ll try and take advantage of.”

Crescent City
“The rockfish and lingcod bite are still going strong,” said Will Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “We’re seeing some really nice lings come in from the Lighthouse. The Pacific and California halibut bite are both slow, with not much in the way of effort. The tuna water came within reach last week, but ocean conditions weren’t good. It looks to be about 35 miles to the south now.”

Brookings
“Lingcod, rockfish and crab action is good out of Brookings, while halibut fishing continues to be slow,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Ocean salmon season is closed.”

ODFW Hosting Public Meetings on 2027 Bottomfish and Halibut Seasons
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding four public meetings to receive input on the 2027 recreational bottomfish and Pacific halibut seasons.

ODFW staff will be hosting in person meetings October 5, 6, 7, and 8 to discuss the 2027 recreational bottomfish and Pacific halibut seasons with anglers. The meeting on October 8 will be a hybrid meeting, available for folks to participate in person or remotely (online), for those unable to attend any of the meetings in person.

Meeting Schedule:

• Tillamook: Monday, October 5, 6-8 pm at the ODFW Office, 4907 3rd St,
• Brookings: Tuesday, October 6, 6-8 pm at the Port Meeting Room at the Port of Brookings, 16330 Lower Harbor Road
• North Bend: Wednesday, October 7, 6-8 pm at the North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Avenue
• Newport: Thursday, October 8, 6-8 pm at ODFW Marine Resources Program Conference Room, 2040 SE Marine Science Drive (also available online, info below)

Discussion on the bottomfish fishery will reflect on how the fishery has progressed in 2026. We will also be discussing bag limits and season structure for 2027, including the potential allowance of limited retention of yelloweye rockfish now that that species has been declared rebuilt by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Discussion on the Pacific halibut fishery will focus on the proposals that will be adopted at the September meeting of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council for further public review.

ODFW staff will have the meeting materials posted on the recreational bottomfish and Pacific halibut webpages by Friday, October 2. More information can be found here.

Trinity River flow reduction
This release schedule reduces Trinity River flows in a gradually from 1,200 cfs to 450 cfs over about 28 hours, ending the Lower Klamath Base Flow Augmentation Release.

• Sept. 22, 12:01 a.m.: 1,200 → 1,100 cfs
• 4:00 a.m.: 1,100 → 1,000 cfs
• 8:00 a.m.: 1,000 → 900 cfs
• 12:00 p.m.: 900 → 800 cfs
• 4:00 p.m.: 800 → 700 cfs
• 8:00 p.m.: 700 → 600 cfs
• Sept. 23, 12:01 a.m.: 600 → 500 cfs
• 4:00 a.m.: 500 → 450 cfs

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The recreational fall-run adult salmon quota on the Klamath River below the Highway 96 Bridge near Weitchpec was met as of Sunday, Sept. 13. The lower main stem of the Klamath River below the Highway 96 Bridge will remain open to the harvest of jack salmon (2-year-olds) measuring 23 inches or less. All adult Chinook salmon caught in this reach must be immediately released.
Anglers may still target adult Chinook salmon in other reaches of the Klamath Basin, including the main stem of the Klamath River above Weitchpec and the entire Trinity River, until those fisheries are closed.

Fishing on the lower Klamath remains good, though it’s been a little more hit-and-miss this week. There’s a mix of adult salmon in the lower river, along with some jacks. A few more adult steelhead have also started showing up, and there are quite a few half-pounders scattered throughout the lower river.

Flows remain higher than normal, hovering around 3,200 cfs as of Thursday. The higher flows have kept plenty of water moving through the lower river, and conditions should continue to change as hopefully more salmon make their way upstream.

Chetco/Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Chetco estuary is fishing above average for early September, with most boats getting fish daily, and some catching limits. “There is a mix of wild and hatchery kings, plus plenty of jacks. The river is open to trolling along the jetties, and bobber fishing upriver. It’s still too early for tidewater bobber fishing, with most of the salmon holding right at the mouth. 

The Rogue Bay has slowed, but is still producing adult kings, jacks and hatchery coho. Fishing has been good upriver near Agness.”

Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and www.fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.